Air Pollution in Kolkata: An Analysis of Current Status and Interrelation between Different Factors

Kolkata, one of the fastest growing metropolises in India has been suffering from air pollution for many decades. The rapid urbanization coupled with ineffective government control has been fuelling this problem. The study aims to portray the current air pollution situation in this megacity as it analyses the present level of different air pollutants like Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), NO2 and SO2. The result of the analysis shows the critical level of air pollutants specially the SPM and NO2 in different parts of city. By zoning the city into residential, commercial and industrial areas, the result shows the difference between the levels of pollution in each area. The second part of the study explored the seasonal variation of air pollution and it has been found all of the pollutants reach its highest concentration during winter. Extending the study, the paper also tries to establish the relationship between the air pollutants and metrological factors by using the Spearman’s Rank Correlation. The results show an inverse relation between the concentration of pollutants and the metrological factors such as precipitation, wind, temperature and relative humidity. Finally, a calculation of the change in pollution level during the two festive seasons is carried out and an increase in SPM concentration has been found during the celebrations of Kali Puja and Diwali.